Luwingo

Luwingo was a male Yaka, belonging to a species of cyborgs who commonly received intelligence-enhancing implants from the Arkanians centuries before the Battle of Yavin. He earned a living as a programmer on his homeworld, creating software for commercial purposes. Eventually, he accumulated enough credits to embark on a luxurious Galaxy Tours cruise with his family. During the cruise, a pirate faction attacked the ship and used knockout gas to stun everyone aboard. While looting the ship's vaults and passenger cabins, the pirates noticed Luwingo's children and kidnapped them, intending to sell them into slavery due to their enhanced brains. The pirates also abducted the rest of Luwingo's family. Luwingo resolved to pursue the pirates and rescue his family by becoming a smuggler, believing it to be the most efficient way to navigate the galaxy.

After acquiring a vessel using back pay, Luwingo left his programming job and began his smuggling career. He realized that operating solo made him conspicuous, and as his funds dwindled, he decided to find a partner to better blend in. He sought out Lo Khan, a smuggler he had previously encountered. While investigating Khan's whereabouts, Luwingo discovered that Uxbeg, one of Khan's rivals, was planning to ambush him. In the Deneba system, Luwingo ambushed and eliminated Uxbeg's henchmen before they could attack Khan. Upon meeting Khan, the smuggler felt sympathy for Luwingo's plight and offered him a temporary partnership. Another group of thugs then attacked the pair, resulting in a firefight during which Luwingo took a blaster bolt for Khan. Despite Khan's concern, Luwingo recovered almost immediately. This incident cemented a strong friendship between the smugglers, and Luwingo became Khan's full-time bodyguard.

Luwingo dedicated the following years to searching for his family between smuggling assignments. Luwingo and Khan began hauling supplies to Byss, an Imperial fortress world located in the Deep Core. In 10 ABY, they were present at the Byss Bistro within Byss's Imperial Freight Complex. Salla Zend and Shug Ninx, fellow smugglers fleeing the Empire after assisting Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo in infiltrating the Emperor's Citadel, sought assistance from Luwingo and Khan. The pair allowed Zend and Ninx to conceal Solo's freighter, the Millennium Falcon, inside Khan's transport, the Hyperspace Marauder, and they discussed recent events at the Bistro. Soon, a Hunter-Killer probot identified as Judgement 12-X7 detected the Falcon inside the Marauder and disabled the ship, leaving Luwingo and Khan stranded on Byss for several months.

Months later, Luwingo and Khan reunited with Zend and Ninx at the Bistro. They witnessed a shipment of newly arrived X-1 Viper war droids, secretly carrying New Republic commandos, initiating havoc against the Imperials. However, the New Republic forces were quickly overwhelmed when the Imperials unleashed their Chrysalide beasts. Recognizing the New Republic's predicament, Zend rallied a group of smugglers, including Luwingo and Khan, to aid the commandos. As the smugglers raced toward their ships, Luwingo provided covering fire against Imperial forces using his tripod laser. After the other smugglers safely boarded their freighters, Luwingo joined Khan in reclaiming the Marauder from the Imperial impound and assisted the New Republic invasion force in its retreat. Luwingo and Khan joined the newly formed smuggler fleet and fled Byss to Pinnacle Base, the New Republic's headquarters. Luwingo and Khan, along with the smuggler fleet, later helped evacuate New Alderaan, a New Republic safe world, before finally heading to the New Republic base at the Space City above Nespis VIII.

As a Yaka, Luwingo possessed a cyborg brain with numerous implants and mental enhancements, making him, like others of his kind, exceptionally intelligent and technically skilled. These cognitive modifications had the unintended consequence of giving Luwingo and other Yaka a peculiar outlook on life and a strange sense of humor. He often spent his time contemplating hyperdimensional equations or devising new strategies to defeat an L7 Logician droid, a task he found relatively easy. This often left Luwingo feeling bored, reflecting on his life and how it had not unfolded as he had hoped, while also acknowledging that it could have been much worse. Strong and robust, Luwingo was also an imposing figure capable of withstanding blaster fire. He developed a close bond with Lo Khan, serving as the smuggler's bodyguard and partner.

Following the incident on the luxury ship that led to his family's abduction, Luwingo dedicated his life to tracking down his family and bringing the pirates to justice. Aware that the memories of the pirate attack would hinder his investigation, he typically suppressed them by reprogramming his cyborg brain. The only thing that brought Luwingo satisfaction was contemplating what he would do to the pirates once he found them.

Although Khan preferred to navigate the safest hyperlanes whenever possible, he and Luwingo had a system for dealing with potential hijackers. If hijackers managed to board the Hyperspace Marauder, they would have to confront Luwingo, and any attempt to reach for a weapon would trigger his anger. If the hijackers tried to tow the ship or breach the cargo bay, Luwingo would have enough time to slice into their ship's computer systems and disable it. Luwingo and Khan shared a strong emotional attachment to the Marauder, considering it their most valuable possession. Luwingo was proficient in computer programming, droid programming, and the repair of computers, droids, and space transport vessels. While he spoke a language distinct from Basic, he could understand conversations in the galactic standard language.

Luwingo's first appearance was in the fifth issue of the Star Wars: Dark Empire comic book series, penned by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Cam Kennedy. He later featured in the second half of Star Wars: Dark Empire II and received a detailed background in the Dark Empire Sourcebook by Michael Allen Horne. He was also mentioned in several Essential Guides and numerous other reference materials, most recently The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Although the fifth issue of Dark Empire suggests that Luwingo saved Khan from Imperials, the Dark Empire Sourcebook identifies the attackers as Uxbeg's henchmen. This article assumes the Dark Empire Sourcebook is correct, given its status as the most recent and comprehensive source.

In issue four of Dark Empire II, Luwingo says, "Namym si niwd oog hcra!," which, when read backwards, spells out, "Arch Goodwin is my man." This is probably a shoutout to Archie Goodwin, the Star Wars comic book writer.